Elton John Holds 'Garage Sale'

Gold silk curtains, silver salt and pepper shakers, leopard-skin furniture and 17th-century portraits went under the hammer Tuesday as Elton John cleared out his London home to make way for a more modern aesthetic.

The celebrity version of a garage sale — a one-day auction at Sotheby's — earned the singer more than $1.67 million.

The auction included hundreds of pieces of furniture, paintings and tableware from John's home in Holland Park, west London. The items, for which Sotheby's created a special 180-page catalog, were sold to make room for a more contemporary collection of artwork.

Various understated pieces of Biedermeier furniture were included. There were also several delicate 18th-century paintings, the most expensive a work by James Northcote that sold for $92,184.

John said much of the collection held special memories because it dated from the early 1990s when he was recovering from drug and alcohol addiction.

But the 56-year-old said it was time to let it go to make way for his new photography and contemporary art pieces — "my new passion."

The sale isn't the first time he's had a mass clear-out of one of his homes. In 1988, he auctioned furniture, jewelry and artworks from his Windsor estate.

There was little sign of any celebrity interest, but one big-spender paid $52,104 for an enamel miniature of Thomas Howard, third Duke of Norfolk, which had been expected to sell for $8,350 to $10,020.

The most expensive item to sell was a painting by Maxwell Armfield of Madison Square Park at $111,890. The cheapest item, a metal candelabra, went for $160.

By Jack Garland